Concrete-block machine



April 22 1924. 1,491,503

F. M. WHITE CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed Oct. 20. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS April 22 1924. 1,491,503

F. M. WHITE CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed Oct. 20. 1922 a Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ammam mwo.

ATTORNEYS April 22 1924. 1,491,503

F. M. WHITE CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed Oct. 20, 1922 s Sheets-Sheet IN VE N TOR Y mdi MWHQ ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 22, 192.4.

' soon, or cHrcAGo, ILLINOIS-Q1 concnnrn snoox MAonInE, f

Applicationfiledoctober 20, 1922." Serial No. 595,802. v

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK M: WHITE, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Concrete-Block Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. y

My invention relates to improvements in concrete block machines, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a machine of the character described by means of which the output is greatly increased as compared to the ordinary type of concrete block making devices.

having a relatively high rate of output which is brought about by utilizing'both the down and up stroke of the press, and by having each of these major movements in" turn render dual service by operating upon two blocks fsimultaneously whether the movement of the press be up or down.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which is capable ofproducing not alone one size or type of block exclusively, which is the usual limit of block machines, but toproduce multifarious building-units by the simple expedient of supplying suitable press shoes, flasks, etc., specially designed for each size or style of block.

'A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which when in operation is capable of producing a continuous output of blocks.

.A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which is portable so that the entire device may be moved from one portion of the plant to another and may deliver blocks directly upon the site upon which the blocksare to. be stored. I

A further'object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which is extremely simple in operation, and which is thoroughly; practical commercially.

A Otherobjects and advantages'will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed-out in the appended claims.

The carriage '1 is further upright Y slideways "6. A cross head 7' is slid- I ably'housed in the slideways 6, as shown in 1 Figure 2. Means for reciprocating the cross My inventionis illustrated in the accompanying drawings," forming part of this application, in which V Figure 1 is a full size elevation of anembodiment of my'invention, K

Figure 2 is an end elevation,p'artly in sec tion, of the mechanism illustrated ure 1, A 1 1 v Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 33 of Figure 2,

. Figure 4 is an endfelevation of-the mechanism illustrated in Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a portion in Fig-- of the mechanism illustrated in Figure'l. I

In carrying out 'myinvention, I make use of a carriage 1. Thecarriage lismounted" upon wheels 2, which wheels are adapted A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described for traction upon rails 3 (see Figure portingplatform 4; substantially horizontal."

The platform 4 is provided with rails 5- extending longitudinally thereofwhich serve as guide members for palletssupporting and conveying the molding flasks hereinafter described. I K provided with head 7 in a vertical plane is provided in a toggle lever 8 having" a connecting rod 9 pivotally connected at the brake joint 10 thereof. The opposite end of the connecting rod 9 is 'pivotally connected at ll'to the shorter length 12' of a bell crank 13; The bell-crank 13 is pivotally mounted at M-be tween suitable be'aring'supports secured to the outer side wall'on one of the slideways 6. The longer length of the bell crank 13 extends laterally of the slideway -6 and serves as a handle'by means of which the toggle lever 8 may be actuated to cause the reciprocation of the cross head 7 in a vertical plane. Means for adjusting the height of the cross head 7 relative to the work supporting table 4 is provided in a plurality of openings 15, through the horizontal body 16 of the cross head 7 ,and a bolt '17"ada'pt'ed to be projected through the openings 15 selectively and the lower end of the portion 18 of the toggle lever 8. The opposite end ofthe' toggle lever 8 is'pivotally supportedat 19 to the upper portion of the vertical slideway frame; 11

mounted intermediate their length at to the upper portion of the slideway support ing frame 26. The adjacent endsvof the levers 24 are eachprovided with rollers 27,

which rollers are always in contact with the bottom of .the elevator 28, which is centered and in alinement with the work engaging plate 31.

Means for preventing lateral ,movement of the elevator 28 is provided-by angle guides '62securedto the platform-4 (see Figure 3),

and by further means of a verticalshaft 29 rigidly secured to the elevator 28. The lower end of the. shaft 29 being bifurcated, is movably astride of the beam 63, which is a rigidpart of the carriage 1 (see Figures 2 It will be readily seenfrom the foregoing description thatmovement of the handle 30 of the bell crank 13 will cause the reciprocation of the cross heads 7 and the elevator 28 toward one another or away from one another at each successive alternation of the handle 30.

The body member 16 of the cross head 7 is 1 provided with a work engagingplate 31 normally disposed in a horizontal plane and removably secured to the body member 16 by suitable binding bolts 32.

I employ the ordinary flask 33. which is provided (in the foregoing illustrations 1 have shown a quadrangular flask or a substantially square flask) with no top or bottom walls. The flask 33 has diametrically opposed openings 34 through two of the side walls thereof adjacent the top of the flask. A core 35 having its top wall closed, asshown at 36, is provided and has diametrically opposed openings 37 through two of the side walls thereof, which openings are normally in registration with the openings 34 when the core 35 is in its proper position. I also provide a press shoe 38 having a shapeto conform with the space between the core 35 and the flask 33. The shoe 38 is further provided with arcuate recesses 39 in each of the upper edges of the side walls of the shoe. The purpose of these recesses is to permit the introduction ofa bar 40' through the openings 34 and 37 when the shoe 38 has been pressed downwardly upon the contents of the flask in the manner hereinafter described. 1

Means for removing the flask 33 and the core 35 after the block has been formed without in any way injuring the block and at the same timethat a new block is being formed,

is provided in the following manner. The bell crank 13 has a laterally extending shaft 41 at its fulcrum which is clearly shown in Figures 1 and5. The outer end of the shaft 41 issupported by means of a suitable frame structure 42 secured to the slideways 6. The shaft 41 is providedwith a segmental drum 43 intermediate its length and a cable 44 is secured at one end ofthe drum 43 at 45. A pulley wheel 46 is rotatably supported upon the shaft 47 so that its remote peripheral wall is directly over the flask when the flask is upon the elevator 57, (see Figs. .1, 4, and 5). A spring fork 48 is slidably supported upon guide members 49 carried by cross pieces 50 secured to the slideways 6 and by the frame 42. The upper end of the spring fork 48 is attached to the opposite end of the cable 44, the cable first having been placed over the pulley 46. This structure causes a reciprocation of the spring fork 48 when the handle30 of the bell crank 13 is oscillated.

The lowerends of the spring fork 48 are provided with gripping teeth 51. The flasks 33 are provided with lugs 52 which are in registration with the teeth .51, and the spring fork 48v is lowered so that the flasks 33 will beelevated when the fork 48 is elevated. If at this time the rod 40 is inserted through the openings 34 and 37, the core. and the flask, will be moved simultaneously.

Means for holdingrthe formed block 53 and the shoe 38 against movement when the flask 33 and the core 35 are stripped therefrom, is provided in a platform 54 whichis slidably mounted upon rods 55 supported directly over the work supporting table 4 and extending laterally therefrom. The platform 54 has four spaced apart stoplmemhere 56 extending downwardly therefrom and normally clear of the top of the press.

shoe 38 when theplatform 54 is in the position shown in Figure 5. vAn elevator 57 in the work supporting table 4 is provided directlyunder the spring fork 48, (see Figs. 1, 4, and 5), and a cam lever 58 is provided by means of which the elevator 57 may be raised by manual operation of the lever tocause the press shoe 38 to contact the stop members 56 (see Figures 1, 4, and :5).

The platform 54 is further provided with apair of spring gripping members 59 on opposite sidesthereofand in staggered relation one to another. The spring gripping members 59 are so arranged that they may engage lugs 60 on the flasks 33 when the flask and core iselevated by means of the spring fork member 48. Obviously, when.

the spring: fork 48 islowered, theflask will remain elevated andthe entire platform 54 may be moved along the slide rods 55 out of the path of thefork 48, where the flask with its attached core may be manually removed and forwarded to the front of the machine for refilling.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. In operation, I first place the flasks 33 upon individual pallets 61 and the core 35 is placed in its proper position within the flask. I then fill the space between the core and the flask with concrete or other suitable material, and place the press shoe 38 directly upon the concrete. The pallets 61 are then manually placed upon the guide rails 5 and moved one at a time under the work engaging plate 31 when the cross head 7 is at its extreme elevation.

For the purpose of illustration, let us follow the operation of merely one block and for that purpose let us assume that the machine is in the position shown in Figure 2 and the cross head 7 is elevated. The first movement will be a downward pull upon the handle 30, thus causing the toggle 8 to operate and force the cross head 7 down. The platform 31 will contact with the press shoe 38 and the levers 24 will operate with the cross head to force the elevator 28 upwardly, carrying the pallet 61 and the flask therewith. As the cross head descends in the slideways 6 and the pallet 61 rises, the press shoe 38 will be forced downwardly in a space between the core and the flask, and the concrete in the flask will be greatly compressed.

The next operation is the upward movement of the handle 30 which will cause th elevator 28 to move downwardly and the cross head upwardly. This action removes pressure from the contents of the flask and provides clearance for free movement of the flask and its pallet 61 over the guide members 5 to a position in alinement with the fork 48 (see Figures 4 and 5).

The next movement is a downward movement of the handle 30 (as this movement is brought about, a new flask and contents are placed under the cross head 7 and the foregoing operation is repeated). This movement will cause the segmental drum as to rotate with the shaft 4.1 and the spring fork 48 will be lowered so that its gripping members 51 yieldably slide over and engage the lugs 52 on the flask, (see Figure 1). At this time, an operator will insert the rod through the openings 34 and 37 of the flask and core, respectively, and will actuate the cam lever 58 to cause the elevator 57 to rise and the press shoe 38 to contact the four stop members 56. The next movement of the handle 30, which is an upward movement, will cause the spring fork 48 to be elevated and to carry with it the flask 33 and the core 35, thus stripping the block and shoe. The flask 33 will continue to rise until the lugmembers 6 0 engage with moved to the position shown in full lines Figure 4, thus providing ample room for the advance of another flask to the stripper and at the same time freedom of movement whilev disengaging the core and flask from the sliding platform 54:.

During this interval the stripped block has been removed and another flask in its place and the entire procedure of stripping the block of flask and core will be repeated.

It will be understood therefore from the preceding description of the operation of the device that there is at all times a continuous and progressive output of blocks that is, with each downward movement of the handle 30 a block is formed, and the flask and core of the preceding block are gripped, and with each upward stroke, the block which has just been formed, is re,- leased from engagement with the press, and the flask and core are stripped from the previously made block.

One of the important advantagesof my present machine is that in one 0 eration, i. e., one downward stroke an return stroke, a finished block is delivered and a new one is made.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a flask, a core for said flask, a shoe adapted to be placed upon the contents of said flask between the core and the inner walls of said flask, a cross head, means for moving said cross head into engagement with said shoe to cause said shoe to press the contents of said flask, means associated with said cross head for simultaneously moving said flask toward said cross head, thereby shortening the power strokeof the cross head required to press the contents of said flask, and means for stripping said flask and said core from the compressed contents of said flask subsequent to the pressing operation, and at the same time said cross head is moving out of engage ment with the subsequently pressed product.

2. In a device of the character described, means for gripping and bodily elevating a molding flask, a stop member for retaining the contents of said flask against movement with said flask, and other means for engaging said flask when said flask is elevated, said last named means being movable laterally whereby said flask may be conveyed out o the path of its vertical movement and out of engagement with said elevating means.

ready 3. In a device of the character described, a flask, a core adapted to be placed within said flask, and a press shoe arranged to enter said flask in the space intermediate the walls of said flask and the outer walls of said core, said press shoe being provided with diametrically opposed recesses in the side walls thereof, the flask and core being provided with diametrically opposed openings therethrough, the openings in said flask being in axial registration with the openings in said core, and with the recesses in said press shoe when said press shoe is at its innermost position to said flask as in compressing a block, and a pin adapted to be projected through the openings in said flask and said core, whereby. said core may.

be held against movement relative to said flask.

t. In a device of the character described, means for gripping and bodily elevating a molding flask and a core therefor simultaneously, a stop member for retaining the contents of said flask against movement with said flask and said core, and other means for engaging said flask when said flask is elevated said lastnamed means being movable laterally, whereby the flask may be.

conveyed out of the path of its vertical movement and out of engagement with said elevating means.

FRANK M. WHITE. 

